An essay about Death

(3^rd and final part)

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross was able to verify the phenomenon of death in her research, as follows: 

 Phase one: “People floated outside their bodies” (page 211 of aforementioned work). In this phase, individuals are conscious of everything and of that which goes on around them. They are able to describe the commentaries regarding them and all the details of the transition; they have an ethereal form; they feel complete, that is, even those who have some kind of physical problem (such as a physical handicap) are able to settle themselves down happily. 

Phase two: “At this point, people had already left their bodies behind and found themselves in a state of life after death that can only be defined as spirit and energy. They felt reassured on discovering that no human being ever dies alone” (page 212 of mentioned work). This phase is characterised by the joy of the immortality of the soul. Due to the certainty that one does not die alone. That is, we always have company that we lived up to during our apprenticeship on Earth. Dr. Ross also affirms that in this passage many, on thinking about their family relations, saw themselves next to them. They were transported at the speed of thought, which urges us to think with harmony and love about those who leave and, also, to guard our commentaries. 

Phase 3: “Guided by their guardian angels, my patients went through a third phase, entering something which was described as a tunnel, or an intermediary gate, though which people mentioned a great variety of other images: a bridge, a gorge in a mountain, a beautiful  stream  (page 213 of the aforementioned work). The strength of our thought hides mysteries that we have not yet been able to know. In this phase, Dr Ross shows us the importance of our mental house, in aiming positive, edifying mental constructions. That which is reassuring for us is that in her researches, many of her patients saw themselves before their spiritual guides or mentors who loved them very much, demonstrating them the immensity of the Infinite and an unconditional love, that each one interpreted in their own way, according to the religious experience that each one had lived on Earth (some referred to this love as being the love of Buddha, others of Jesus Christ, others of God, etc). The first visualisations of the spiritual world also occur in this phase, of their colonies, habits, costumes, operation, which are widely described in spiritist literature.

Phase four:” In this stage people went through a revision of their lives, a process in which they found themselves before the totality of their lives. They re-examined each action, word and thought. The reasons for each of their decisions, thoughts and actions became comprehensible” (page 214 of the aforementioned work). In this phase, a retrospective of our actions occurs, which causes us to reflect upon the relevance to us of using well our free-will. That is, what contribution can we give to the environment in which we live? It is a moment for thinking about the time we have available here on Earth, so that when we move to the Infinite we have good memories of our planetary life and do not feel remorse... The divine tribunal is within our own conscience. When we die in the terrestrial plane and we enter the spiritual world we are invited by this same conscience, where reside the laws of God, for a reflection upon the time we spent on Earth. Therefore the assertive - “To each one will be given according to your works” - is not without meaning:  

The contribution of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross to the academic world is undeniable. They are to do with very beautiful experiences of her patients and were left as narratives in her several books. We suggest attentive reading of the works of this extraordinary woman, so that the reader has a good notion of the magnificent work carried out by her and which for obvious reasons, we were not able to go through in such detail as we would have liked. 

Notes by Raymond Moody 

Raymond Moody, renowned north-American researcher, brought valuable contributions to academic thought. His main ideas are in found in the books “Life after Life” and “The Light Beyond”. The first one became a justly awarded best-seller. His many researches revolved around people who were near death, but who, for many reasons, were able to return to the material life. He called such phenomena Near Death Experiences. Such events are characterised by a set of experiences detected by him amongst the several patients whom he treated and observed.

One or more characteristics corroborate the Near Death Experience phenomenon, that is, it is not mandatory for all characteristics to take place in sequence or for all of NED characteristics occur.

Let us look at the symptomatology found by Dr. Moody. 

1.                Sensation of being dead: “Many people do not realise that the NED they are experiencing is connected to death. They see themselves floating above their body, looking at it from a certain distance and suddenly they feel fear and/or confusion” (page 20 of the aforementioned work). This confusion or fear is result of ignorance regarding spiritual existence.  We still lack education for the immortality of life. All the findings Dr Raymond detected in his research are not really “discoveries”. Therefore it is worth considering that due to higher or lower sensibility of several people, they can become disembodied and see themselves outside their body, and even give details of everything which occurs in the surroundings. 

2.                Peace and Absence of Pain: “While the patient is incarnated, there can frequently be intense pain. But when the “threads are cut” there is a real sensation of peace and an absence of pain” (page 22 of the aforementioned work). The energetic threads that unite the material body to the perispirit are not “cut”, otherwise we would certainly have death. These threads are “loosened” and the being who goes through such an experience, feels more lucidity and freedom, because he experiences; even if only vaguely, the delights of the spirit. Thereby and considering each one’s moral baggage, there is an absence of pain. Because pain occurs predominantly in the flesh, the pain of the Spirit is of a moral order. 

3.                The Experience of feeling outside one’s body: “Frequently when the doctor says “We have lost the patient”, the patient goes through a complete change of perspective. He feels himself rise up and is able to see his own body below himself” (page 22 of the aforementioned work). The reasons for this are already explained in item 1. We still highlight that due to the strength of the patient’s will, it is possible for him to travel anywhere. So there are experiences of some people who deeply wished to go into the waiting room where their close relatives were, and were able to describe everything that went on, with impressive richness of detail. 

4.                The Tunnel Experience: “The tunnel experience generally happens after the separation from the body. (...) people go through the “cutting of the ties” and “through the experience of being outside the body” before they really realise that all this is related to death” (page 23 of the aforementioned work). This experience is the most famous described by Raymond Moody. A large number of those who went through a NDE affirm to having experienced such a sensation, which is not only composed of a tunnel but also in other ways, such as bridges, staircases and etc. 

5.                People of Light: “After crossing the tunnel, the person generally meets a Being of Light. These beings are not made up of common light. They shine with a beautiful and intense luminosity, which seems to permeate everything and fill the person with love” (page 24 of the aforementioned work). The light of these entities, characteristic of benevolent Spirits, does not cause any embarrassment to the individual who suffers a NDE and who has the opportunity to meet them. On the contrary, this light is confused with love.  They are entities who are concerned with the inner harmony of the individual and infuse him with joy and peace. 

6.                The Being of Light: “After finding several Beings of Light, the person who goes through a NED finds a Supreme Being of Light” (page 25 of mentioned work). Depending on the religious formation of the individual this Being of Light receives a name, for example, Jesus, Buddha, Allah, etc. The fact is that this Being of Light transmits complete peace and love. Everyone who has the opportunity of seeing one of these beings does not want to leave its side. We could say that this Being of Light is the mentor of the person; to whom he is akin through ties of deep love and fraternity; and to whom he feels very much endeared. This mentor is the one responsible for giving direction to the life of this person as for example, whether to return or not to the physical body, to carry out a review of one’s terrestrial pilgrimage and etc. 

7.                The review of Life: “When the review of life takes place, there is no longer any physical adaptation. In place, there is a panoramic review of life in a tri-dimensional plane, in full colour, where one can review each of the things one did in his life” (page 25 of the aforementioned book).  Besides this mental review of life’s facts, one is able to feel the effects of his actions. If it was acted on for the good of someone, he feels joy and inner peace. If one has caused harm through a spoken word, a gesture or attitude, then one feels the same sensations as those of the harmed person. So we find judgement within ourselves and it is called conscience. These analyses cause significant changes to the people who suffer a NED. 

8.                Rapid Ascension to Heaven: “I must say that not all people who have a NED go through the tunnel experience. Some report a “floating” sensation in which they rise up quickly to heaven, seeing the universe from a perspective only possible to satellites and astronauts” (page 26 of the aforementioned work). Each experience is “sui generis” and the sensation of rapid ascension to heaven is a natural result of the properties of the perispirit, which due to its fluidic texture, makes volitation executable, even if the person who is going through a NED does not know how this phenomenon takes place. Frequently one finds the support from friendly benefactors who transport him to higher regions, outside the terrestrial sphere. 

9.                Reluctance to Return: “For many people, a NED is so pleasant that they do not want to return. As a consequence, they tend to be very angry with their doctor for bringing them back” (page 27 of the aforementioned work). After getting to know, even if from only a glimpse, the beauty of the spiritual world and the fraternity that reigns amongst its inhabitants, these people do not want to return to the world of pain, struggles and suffering which is Earth. They are, however, moved by a strange energy in the sense of modifying behaviours to improve their conduct and achieve this Eldorado of the space again.  

10.            Different Time and Space: “... the people who went through a NED affirm that time is highly compressed and nothing similar to time which we observe on our clocks. These people describe time as “being in the eternity” (page 28 of the aforementioned work). For having visited another dimension, different in diverse aspects from ours, the question of temporality is also different. Each spiritual dimension presents its specific time. 

Finally, here are some of Raymond Moody’s final considerations.

He has found that in some cases, much less frequently, some people that suffered a NED were able to visualise the future.

Thus, they would be able to tell everything that would happen to themselves or would even have the sensation that they had already experienced certain situations (déjà vu). These cases are very rare, but had already been registered in the literature of this researcher and others who have studied the same theme.

Another important fact is the deep change that a NED causes in people that experienced one. Ultimately,  people return with renewed values, they try to unconditionally  love all manifestations of life and, also, try to get to know everything in depth, that is, they enrol on courses or try to read avidly (even if they did not like reading before).

They affirm that only love and knowledge are those things which we truly take to the other dimension. They corroborate, therefore, the Spirit of Truth’s affirmations when it said to love one another and to educate ourselves. As well as Emmanuel and others who affirm that sentiment and reasoning are the two wings which will take us to the Creator.

The contribution from Raymond Moody to the academic world was and continues to be very precious. He was, together with Kübler-Ross, one of those responsible for the dissemination of the immortality of life in the scientific community.  Those who wish to study the theme in depth must read it, because he brings to us valuable teachings.